14 Dec
2006 - Beijing, China — A rare river dolphin may
be one step closer to extinction as scientists
fail to count any of the endangered species along
China’s Yangtze River.
An international expedition,
supported by WWF, covered over 1,000km — from
Yichang to Shanghai, without spotting one Yangtze
river dolpin, or Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer).
“Not spotting Baiji dolphins
on this expedition does not necessarily mean that
the species is extinct because the search was
conducted in a relatively short period of time
over a large area of the river,” said Wang Limin,
Director of WWF China’s Wuhan office.
“However, we are extremely concerned
by the search results that indicate how degraded
the freshwater environment is in the Yangtze.”
Polluted waters, intensive fishing
activity and busy shipping traffic have contributed
to the demise of the species, as well as the Yangtze
finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides).
“The search also observed the
dramatic decrease in the finless porpoise population,
which may follow the same fate of Baiji dolphin
in the near future if no drastic conservation
action is taken,” cautioned Wang.
In China, WWF is working to
restore the Yangtze River basin to improve freshwater
habitats and resources. In 2004, a joint WWF-HSBC
project led to the regular opening of a dyke at
Tian'e-zhou Oxbow Lake, reconnecting it to the
Yangtze after 50 years. This has boosted water
levels and quality in the lake, home to the Yangtze
finless porpoise, and is allowing the natural
migration of fish during their breeding season.
“The protection of the Yangtze’s
cetaceans is dependent upon the protection the
river’s ecosystem,” said Dermot O’Gorman, WWF’s
country representative in China. “This requires
all of us to work together to restore a living
river not only for the cetaceans but also for
its people.”
END NOTES:
• The critically endangered Yangtze river dolphin,
or baiji, can only live in freshwater and has
very poor eyesight. It once lived in the lower
and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Fuchun
River, and in Dongting and Poyang Lakes, China.
Today, it is the world's most endangered cetacean.
• Of the seven species of dolphins
worldwide, four are found only in freshwater:
the Ganges river Dolphin (Platanista gangetica),
the Yangtze river dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer),
the Indus river dolphin (Platanista minor) and
the Amazon dolphin (Inia geoffrensis). In addition,
there are two river dolphins and one river porpoise
that can be found in both marine and freshwater,
the tucuxi, Sotalia fluviates in South America
and the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris)
and finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides)
in Asia.
• The Yangtze freshwater
dolphin expedition was organized by the Hydrobiology
Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science, the
Yangtze Fisheries Resources Administration Commission
and the Baiji Foundation, with support from WWF,
the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), Britain’s Zoological Society of London
and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science
and Technology.
Tan Rui, Communications Officer
